Just What Is A Wrongful Death Claim?

<h1>Just What Is A Wrongful Death Claim?</h1>Author: <a title="Thomas Ajava" href="http://www.articlesbase.com/authors/thomas-ajava/199642.htm">Thomas Ajava</a> There are a host of legal claims that are made daily by one party against another. Basic claims such as negligence are generally well understood, but more esoteric claims are less so. In this article, we take a look at just what a wrongful death claim is in relation to the law. A wrongful death claim is what is known as a bootstrap action under the law. By “bootstrap”, it is generally understood that the claim must be based on another action with the exception being that the damages in this case include the death of the aggrieved. Let’s look at an example to explain what we mean. The vast majority of us drive cars. This also means that a certain percentage of us drive our cars into each other. When I accidently run into the back of you at a light because I misjudged how quickly I needed to slow down, I have committed an act of negligence. This act is so common that we have auto insurance to pay for the damages. In fact, auto insurance is also mandatory in every state which tells you just how often this form of negligence occurs. Ah, now what if I am arguing with someone on my cell phone while driving? I am blazing along and run through a stop sign I fail to notice. I broadside your car and your spouse is killed. My negligent act was to fail to see the stop sign and not come to a stop. You will sue me for wrongful death based on this underlying negligence action. Put another way, your spouse would not be dead if I hadn’t acted negligently. This is how a wrongful death action is bootstrapped onto another claim. Can you have a wrongful death claim that is not bootstrapped onto an underlying claim? No. Even a wrongful death claim filed in an intentional action case is based on some underlying action. OJ Simpson may have escaped murder charges, but he was later found liable for wrongful death to the tune of $30 million plus.About the Author: Thomas Ajava is with <a href="http://www.durhamwrongfuldeathattorney.com">DurhamWrongfulDeathAttorney.com</a> - your online resource for finding a Durham wrongful death attorney to handle your case.
Article Source: <a href="http://www.articlesbase.com/">ArticlesBase.com</a> - <a href="http://www.articlesbase.com/personal-injury-articles/just-what-is-a-wrongful-death-claim-1324975.html" title="Just What Is A Wrongful Death Claim?">Just What Is A Wrongful Death Claim?</a>

There are a host of legal claims that are made daily by one party against another. Basic claims such as negligence are generally well understood, but more esoteric claims are less so. In this article, we take a look at just what a wrongful death claim is in relation to the law.

A wrongful death claim is what is known as a bootstrap action under the law. By “bootstrap”, it is generally understood that the claim must be based on another action with the exception being that the damages in this case include the death of the aggrieved. Let’s look at an example to explain what we mean.

The vast majority of us drive cars. This also means that a certain percentage of us drive our cars into each other. When I accidently run into the back of you at a light because I misjudged how quickly I needed to slow down, I have committed an act of negligence. This act is so common that we have auto insurance to pay for the damages. In fact, auto insurance is also mandatory in every state which tells you just how often this form of negligence occurs.

Ah, now what if I am arguing with someone on my cell phone while driving? I am blazing along and run through a stop sign I fail to notice. I broadside your car and your spouse is killed. My negligent act was to fail to see the stop sign and not come to a stop. You will sue me for wrongful death based on this underlying negligence action. Put another way, your spouse would not be dead if I hadn’t acted negligently. This is how a wrongful death action is bootstrapped onto another claim.

Can you have a wrongful death claim that is not bootstrapped onto an underlying claim? No. Even a wrongful death claim filed in an intentional action case is based on some underlying action. OJ Simpson may have escaped murder charges, but he was later found liable for wrongful death to the tune of $30 million plus.

Thomas Ajava is with DurhamWrongfulDeathAttorney.com - your online resource for finding a Durham wrongful death attorney to handle your case.

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Article Tags: wrongful death, claim, lawsuit, bootstrap, bootstrapping, negligence, underlying, crime, oj simpson

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